Chess Articles

What in the world is a chess dream? And how can such a thing help your game?
This series is all about dreams (okay, it’s also about imbalances and patterns), and it’s presented in a question-and-answer format. Some of the positions w... |Read More

There are a lot of options for the best place to play chess.
Perhaps it’s in a large tournament, or even the world championship match, with millions of dollars on the line, and your opponent just blundered.
Maybe it’s ju... |Read More

"We have to play by the !@#$ rules!" -- Amanda Young, Saw II.
In last week's article, we discussed a dangerous strategic concept, the saw.
So, what should you do if your opponent turns it against you? Well, as Amanda put it, you should ... |Read More

Below is an article published in several periodicals in late 1900. It appeared just shortly after the death of Wilhelm Steinitz and offers some astute appraisals of the chess players who contributed to the development of chess in the 2nd ... |Read More

Topic for next month: Speed Chess
(Please start submitting questions concerning the above topic for the next column. Questions different from the above theme should be submitted to other Chess.com departments.)
Question 1: (Submitted by War... |Read More

To me, the term king hunt invariably conjures up an image of a bygone era, when chess was played over coffee and cigars at the Café de la Régence. With defensive tenacity largely considered a hindrance to the game's beauty, spec... |Read More

In the previous two articles, I have discussed the earliest beginnings of the Caro-Kann Defense as well as later usage and developments. In this third part of the four-part series, I will discuss the various methods White has evolved to oppose the... |Read More

What in the world is a chess dream? And how can such a thing help your game?
For those that want the full introductory prose, please go to part one of this series. For the busy masses who have things to do and places to go, here’s a nutshe... |Read More

Everyone knows the popular, "normal" openings played at the top level of chess.
The Ruy-Lopez, the Sicilian, the French: thousands of pages have been written about these world-championship-level openings.
But what if you're not playing a... |Read More

"I want to play a game." -- John '"Jigsaw" Kramer (from the movie Saw).
You all probably know this cliche from many horror movies:
A group of people are having fun (like a bunch of drunk college kids partying in a remote location), upbeat... |Read More

The Northern Gambit
The moves of the Danish or Northern Gambit are 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 - after which Black can accept the gambit with 3...dxc3 or decline it in a variety of ways.
The Danish or Northern Gambit
As t... |Read More

Zugzwang in chess seems like a simple concept: being forced to move even when it's disadvantageous.
To me, zugzwang is the saudade of chess; a straightforward idea on the surface, but a profound and fascinating concept on the in... |Read More

In part 1 of this series on the Caro-Kann, I discussed the earliest beginnings of the opening, the origin of the name, and its first adoption by top players. It is always fascinating to learn about the beginnings of these openings, which today see... |Read More

What makes chess beautiful is what remains undiscovered in its lesser-used openings. Obviously, some theory remains more popular than others and for good reason. Regardless, becoming acquainted with the ugly ducklings of chess, like the Scandinavi... |Read More

What if Chess.com added a food consumption element to its Death Matches? On which meal would GMs Sam Shankland and Georg Meier prefer to gorge?
For this and other pressing and non-pressing questions, we caught up with the players. You can read b... |Read More

What in the world is a chess dream? And how can such a thing help your game?
For those that want the full introductory prose, please go to part one of this series. For the busy masses who have things to do and places to go, here’s a nutshell ex... |Read More

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Peter’s Chess Vibes
Tournaments, tournaments...
“The month of February used to have one big event: Linares. This year there were no less than fiv... |Read More

The sports network ESPN estimates that 70 million college basketball brackets will be filled out this week in the United States alone.
You can get in on the fun by joining the official Chess.com college basketball bracket contest. Play along wit... |Read More

In the 1890s women's chess in England, as in most places, was considered nearly inconsequential. To bring this arena to the forefront required dedication, energy and persistance. It so happened that many of the women who had those re... |Read More

Grandmaster David Bronstein was an excellent chess player, original thinker and a brilliant chess author who produced a number of bestsellers. His most famous chess book is undoubtedly "Zurich 1953."
Everyone loves this book and for a good reas... |Read More

The study of theoretical endgames is a necessary evil. For most players, it is a rather torturous experience simply because there is no room for innovation or creativity.
However, as any strong gandmaster will tell you, there are several th... |Read More

We turn our attention to a defense that has been known for its solidity from the very beginning: the Caro-Kann Defense.
Surely the moves 1.e4 c6 have been played in casual games long ago -- probably soon after the modern rules of chess were inst... |Read More

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